2026 Cannes Film Festival Lineup Predictions
The 79th Cannes Film Festival lineup drops tomorrow. Which means one thing. Chaos.
April 8, 2026 | By Lisa Hatzenbeller
Rumors are flying, filmmakers are scrambling to finish in time, and every prediction list feels both confident and completely made up. Some titles show up everywhere. Others appear out of nowhere. And even if a film is submitted, there is no guarantee it survives the final cut.
Because Cannes is not just a festival. It is the starting gun. It is where new voices break through, where established directors reassert themselves, and where the first real pieces of the awards season puzzle begin to fall into place. With films coming from all over the world, Cannes naturally feeds into an Academy that is now 24% international, making that global exposure matter more than ever.
Cannes is also a marketplace. For many filmmakers, especially those without distribution, a premiere here is not just about prestige, it is about getting the film seen, sold, and picked up. Distributors like Neon have made a habit of acquiring Cannes titles and turning them into serious Oscar contenders, raising the stakes even higher. Last year, they acquired four of the five international feature films and one of the Animated Feature Films, Arco.
Cannes delivers. Last year’s In Competition lineup alone produced two Best Picture nominees, both also nominated for International Feature, The Secret Agent and Sentimental Value – which won International Feature. Plus, two additional International Feature nominees: It Was Just an Accident and Sirāt.
Most Cannes predictors try to cover every section. I’m not doing that. I’m focused solely on In Competition. This is my first time attempting Cannes predictions, and I’m doing it with zero insider access. No industry sources, no behind the scenes intel. Just me, my research, and a perspective from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Alright, here we go. In Competition predictions:
• After (Lars Von Trier)
Marks his return to In Competition for the first time since 2011, where he has appeared nine times and won the Palme d’Or.
• Alpha Gang (David and Nathan Zellner)
The Zellner brothers would make their Cannes debut with a film produced by and starring two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, blending star power with a bizarre premise about aliens disguised as 1950s bikers.
• All of a Sudden (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
Hamaguchi returns following Drive My Car, his Oscar-nominated Best Picture contender that also earned him a directing nomination.
• Bitter Christmas (Pedro Almodóvar)
Marks his seventh time in Competition, where he has yet to win the Palme d’Or, despite Talk to Her earning him an Oscar win for Original Screenplay and a nomination for Director.
• All of a Sudden (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
Hamaguchi returns following Drive My Car, his Oscar-nominated Best Picture contender that also earned him a directing nomination.
• Bitter Christmas (Pedro Almodóvar)
Marks his seventh time in Competition, where he has yet to win the Palme d’Or, despite Talk to Her earning him an Oscar win for Original Screenplay and a nomination for Director.
• Bunker (Florian Zeller)
A potential first Cannes selection for Zeller, who won an Oscar for The Father, with this original screenplay starring Oscar winners Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz.
• Butterfly Jam (Kantemir Balagov)
His first film since Beanpole, which won Best Director in Un Certain Regard, and would mark his first move into In Competition.
• Fatherland (Paweł Pawlikowski)
From Oscar-winning director Paweł Pawlikowski, starring Oscar nominee Sandra Hüller, who continues to be a major presence this awards season.
• Fjord (Cristian Mungiu)
A Palme d’Or winner returning with his fifth In Competition entry and first English-language feature, starring Oscar nominees Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve.
• Full Phil (Quentin Dupieux)
Would mark Dupieux’s first Cannes selection, with a wild comedy starring Kristen Stewart and Woody Harrelson, who previously starred in the Palme d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness, which went on to earn three Oscar nominations including Best Picture.
• Gentle Monster (Marie Kreutzer)
The Austrian director returns to Cannes, this time for In Competition, after Corsage screened in Un Certain Regard and went on to earn a BAFTA nomination for Best Film Not in the English Language.
• Her Private Hell (Nicolas Winding Refn)
His fourth film at Cannes, starring Sophie Thatcher and Charles Melton.
• It Will Happen Tonight (Nanni Moretti)
The acclaimed director returns with what would be his 10th In Competition film, after debuting in 1978 and previously winning both the Palme d’Or and Best Director.
• Jack of Spades (Joel Coen)
Palme d’Or and Best Director winner at Cannes, and Oscar winner Joel Coen could return with his ninth film, starring Josh O’Connor and Oscar winner Frances McDormand.
• Love is Not the Answer (Michael Cera)
Directorial debut from Cera, centered on an aging actress played by Pamela Anderson.
• Minotaur (Andrey Zvyagintsev)
From a two-time Oscar-nominated director, following an executive whose life descends into chaos.
• Paper Tiger (James Gray)
His sixth time at Cannes, with a film about an executive whose life descends into chaos, starring Oscar nominees Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver.
• Parallel Tales (Asghar Farhadi)
The Iranian Oscar-nominated director returns to Cannes for a fifth time with a Paris-set film featuring a strong French ensemble.
• Sheep in the Box (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
The Japanese filmmaker and Palme d’Or winner returns with a futuristic sci-fi adventure.
• Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (Jane Schoenbrun)
Her latest film following the indie success of I Saw the TV Glow, starring Gillian Anderson.
• Out of this World (Albert Serra)
This would be Serra’s second film In Competition, his film Pacification competited in 2022. Starring F. Murray Abraham and Riley Keough, who also stars in Butterfly Jam.
The 79th Cannes Film Festival runs from May 12 to May 23, with Park Chan-wook serving as this year’s In Competition jury president. After what I still consider an unfair miss last year for No Other Choice, his presence adds another layer of intrigue to how this lineup and eventual winners could take shape. Now it’s just a matter of seeing which films make the cut.
Who do you think will be announced for the In Competition section?
Which films are you most excited for? Reply on X or drop your thoughts on today’s Instagram post. Follow along for full 2026 Cannes coverage and everything awards season.
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